Iran Challenges Taliban’s Claims On Reduction Of Drug Production

According to AGT, the past two months have seen significant discord, particularly between the Kandahari Taliban and the Haqqani network factions.

On Saturday, May 25, AGT’s intelligence unit disclosed that the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) is sharply divided. Mullah Wasiq, the GDI head, supported by Taliban leader Mullah Hibatullah, and the Haqqani network are the main contenders. The position of Kabul province’s intelligence head, currently held by a Mullah Wasiq ally, is a focal point of the dispute.

Further disruptions occurred when Abdullah Ghaznawi, Wasiq’s son-in-law and Chief of Staff of GDI chief, was ousted following criticisms from the Haqqani network. In contrast, Shamsullah, Wasiq’s grandson, remains the head of foreign relations within Taliban intelligence. The Haqqani network’s preferred candidate, Tajmir Jawad, serves as the first deputy head of the intelligence agency.

Relations between Wasiq and Tajmir Jawad are reportedly strained, with Mullah Hibatullah having met with Tajmir only once. AGT claims Tajmir Jawad is actively seeking to replace the current Kabul intelligence head. Although recent disagreements led to armed confrontations, intervention by Kandahar authorities helped to quell the clashes.

According to the sources, one of the conditions is granting Taliban the Afghanistan's seat in the United Nations.

Taliban sources, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Pashto section of Afghanistan International that the second condition is the UN withdrawing its special representative for Afghanistan. The third condition is consulting the Taliban on the agenda and composition of the third Doha meeting.

A diplomatic source also told Afghanistan International that the Taliban strongly oppose the participation of representatives from Afghan civil society and political groups in the third Doha meeting.

The source added that the Taliban's demand for the UN seat is a tactical move, as they know it is unlikely to be granted.

According to sources within the Taliban, the group also informed the UN and Qatari delegations in Kabul that issues such as girls' education, women's employment, and the formation of an inclusive government should not be on the agenda for the third Doha meeting.

The Taliban told these delegations that these are internal matters for Afghanistan and that the group is working to find appropriate solutions.

The sources added that the Taliban stated they would only participate in the meeting if it focuses on Afghanistan's security, drug eradication, and the fight against armed groups, particularly ISIS.

Meanwhile, according to sources, the UN delegation in Kabul told Taliban officials that the third Doha meeting will discuss girls' education, women's employment, the formation of an inclusive government, human rights violations in Taliban prisons, the group's relationship with Al-Qaeda, and ultimately the international community's engagement with the group.

Taliban sources said the group is still waiting for their conditions to be accepted before deciding whether to participate in the third Doha meeting.

This meeting, hosted by the UN, is scheduled to be held on June 30 and July 1 with the presence of special representatives for Afghanistan from various countries.

The UN has stated that the purpose of the meeting is to "increase the international community's coordinated and orderly engagement with Afghanistan."

The Taliban did not participate in the previous two Doha meetings.

Relatives of Shahpari told Afghanistan International that the Taliban detained her six months ago on kidnapping charges in Parwan and subsequently, the group’s urban court sentenced her to three years in prison. The Taliban have not provided information about her charges and the forced marriage.

Relatives told Afghanistan International that Shahpari was forcibly married off by a Taliban city court judge while she was sentenced to three years in prison. Sajjad, Shahpari’s brother, said that the Taliban member named Raihan has since confined Shahpari inside a house in the Ghorband Valley. According to Sajjad, Shahpari has managed to make several phone calls to her family requesting for her rescue during this time.

Shahpari, originally from Dasht-e-Barchi in Kabul, had her relatives approach the Taliban courts in Parwan after receiving her phone calls. Her brother told Afghanistan International that this Taliban member works for a local Taliban media outlet in Parwan and was married to another women too.

Complaints in Taliban Courts

Shahpari’s mother, in a complaint letter obtained by Afghanistan International to the Taliban appellate court in Parwan, wrote, “My daughter Shahpari, a single woman, who was sentenced to five years of imprisonment by the Islamic Emirate’s Sharia court, was serving her time in Parwan prison.”

Her mother further wrote, “Shahpari was not ready for marriage, but the prison officials and the court gave her away to a husband.” Quoting her daughter, the mother stated that Shahpari is currently in house arrest at a private residence by an unknown person.

According to a document obtained by Afghanistan International, Mufti Abdul Wali Halim, the head of the Taliban appellate court in Parwan, wrote in a letter to the urban court’s criminal panel, “Consider the contents of the complaint and proceed according to procedural and investigation principles.”

Sajjad said that the Taliban initially told them Shahpari was sentenced to five years for kidnapping but later, upon their approach to the Taliban city court in Parwan, announced her sentence was three years. He added that they do not have access to the case details or the specifics of the charges against Shahpari, and the Taliban have only informed the family of the charge and the duration of imprisonment. He also said the Taliban did not inform them about the forced marriage.

Sajjad added that his sister had gone to a friend’s house in Parwan province and was arrested by the Taliban on kidnapping charges.

Threats and Forced Religious Conversion

Sajjad, Shahpari’s brother, said that after receiving a phone call from his sister, he approached the Taliban city court. He said that the judge of this court threatened them with imprisonment and forcibly expelled them from the office.

Sajjad added, “We told the Taliban city judge to bring Shahpari and her husband and if my sister was happy with this marriage, we would have no problem. However, the Taliban judge refused to do so.”

Sajjad said, “I also spoke with Raihan, a Taliban member, but he warned me not to make any more phone calls to Shahpari and claimed that Shahpari is his lawful wife.”

The brother also said that this Taliban member has pressured Shahpari to convert from “Shia to Sunni” sect of Islam after the forced marriage.

Last month, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom reported that the religious freedom of minorities, including Shiites, has been violated in Afghanistan.

Recently, the US Department of State in its annual human rights report stated that 16 women out of 90 imprisoned in the provinces of Jowzjan, Faryab, and Samangan became pregnant after being raped by Taliban members.

The US Department of State also stated that the Taliban have executed at least four women in Samangan after repeated rapes by its members.

NRF stated that no harm was done to its forces or civilians in this attack.

In a statement released by the Front on Friday, it had been mentioned that this attack took place last night.

NRF said that it will continue its attacks in various parts of the country against the Taliban until the group's "illegitimate" rule in Afghanistan has ended.

According to Pakistani army officials, these operations began on April 21 in the border areas with Afghanistan.

The media wing of the Pakistan army announced on Wednesday that their security forces have killed 29 terrorists along the Afghanistan border over the past month.

Pakistan considers these operations part of a broader effort to curb the influence of "terrorists" who target security forces and civilians in Pakistan.

This comes as last week, Pakistani security forces clashed with the Taliban in the border region of Dand Wa Patan. The clashes ended after five days with the mediation of local elders from both sides of the border.

The media unit of the Pakistan Army also stated that they have repeatedly asked the Taliban in the past to assure effective management of the border areas.

In recent months, Pakistani officials have frequently accused the Taliban of harbouring Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) following an increase in terrorist attacks in the country.

Pakistan claims that terrorist attacks in the country are planned and organised from Afghanistan soil, but the Taliban have consistently rejected these claims, stating that armed groups opposing the Pakistani government are not present in Afghanistan.